Whether they're sporty or a foodie, a gamer or music lover, treat your significant other to a top present this February

With Christmas not long over, it can be pretty tough to find a good Valentine’s Day gift for the special someone in your life. Sadly, though, fail to impress and you won’t hear the end of it until next Christmas.

So cast aside thoughts of the same selection of supermarket flowers and mediocre chocolates as last year. It's time to put some serious thought into a gift that will really show them how much they mean to you.

To help you impress we’ve compiled a top-notch list of the best Valentine’s Day gifts, from tech that’ll make their life a little more luxurious or add a personal touch to their home, to unforgettable experiences you can share together.

The best Valentine's Day gifts

1. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons Break for Two

Indulge in fine food and exquisite gardens during this romantic overnighter for deux

Specifications

Best for: A romantic night away

Gift Type: Experience

Reasons to buy

+Enjoy it together +Includes a keepsake from your stay

Reasons to avoid

-Expensive for only one night

A good general rule of thumb for Valentine’s Day gifting is that if it’s got a French name, it’s got to be a winner, and this logic certainly applies when it comes to a stay at Raymond Blanc joint Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in rural Oxfordshire.

This romantic gastronomic experience for two encompasses an overnight stay in one of the country house hotel’s plush Junior Suites, the ideal setting for l’amour, but the big seller is a fabulous, button-bursting five-course meal at the hotel’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant.

As a sweet finishing touch for foodies, you’ll also get a copy of Monsieur Blanc’s Foolproof French Cooking to keep that Gallic magic going all year round.

2. Sailing Weekend in Devon

An action-packed weekend for budding sailors, or just a bit of a jolly

Specifications

Best for: Adventurous types

Gift Type: Experience

Reasons to buy

+It's something to do together+All inclusive

Reasons to avoid

If you want to do something this Valentine’s Day rather than just give a material gift, adventurous experience days have become increasingly popular as a romantic gift idea. This sailing weekend for two is a great way for you and your partner to spend some quality time together, and what better way to do so than on a luxury 40 foot yacht just off the Dorset coast.

Once purchased, this weekend trip can be booked any time between April and October, which means you can save it for a time when the British weather is most likely to be on its best behaviour.

You’ll get all your food and drink included, starting with waking up to a gorgeous breakfast on the yacht, followed by an action-packed day of learning how to sail and then a fun evening of dinner and drinks at your chosen location. It’s the perfect romantic getaway.

3. The Heston Blumenthal Smart Waffle Maker

Cook your way to their heart

Specifications

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

If your significant other is partial to a warm, sugary breakfast in bed then you need to get them this waffle maker. It really is the smartest waffle maker out there.

Featuring Waffle IQ, smart cooking technology that automatically calculates cooking times based on your preferred waffle style (classic, buttermilk, Belgian or chocolate) and colour (from light to dark). Pour in the batter mix and the maker will do the rest.

If you get the end of cooking time and decide you’d like a bit of extra crunch, there’s a nifty ‘Bit More’ functions that allows you to add a little extra time without having to reset the timer.

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

If you’re looking for something a little more unique than taking your partner out for a candlelight dinner, then this wood oven would certainly heat things up nicely. This portable pizza oven is perfect for gardens or outdoor kitchens, heating up to 500 degrees Celsius and allowing you to cook fresh pizza in just 60 seconds!

If you’ve recently moved into a new home together this makes an especially thoughtful Valentine's Day gift. What's more, it will serve you well for date night for years to come, and will be handy in the summer as a more efficient BBQ when you have guests over.

You will need to stock up on wood pellets and make sure you clean the oven regularly for the best results, but if you and your spouse are total foodies, this is the gift for you.

Reasons to avoid

Did you as a couple resolve to get fit and active in 2019? Give your other half a helping hand of motivation to up their activity with the Fitbit Charge 3.

It’s hands down the best fitness tracker on the market right now. As as well as the standard features of sleep tracking and step and calorie counting, you can get granular by setting goals and targets for all kinds of daily activity (stairs climbed, for example), but also more intense exercise. It’s heart rate monitor is way better than that of your average fitness band too.

This is a great gift for someone who is serious about their fitness, whether they already are a regular exerciser, or are serious about getting serious.

7. Nintendo Switch

A gaming gift to celebrate your favourite Player 2

Specifications

Best for: Gamers

Colour: Black, red and blue

Gift Type: Console

Reasons to buy

+Great for competitive couples+Huge variety of games

Reasons to avoid

If you ask us (and you kind of did), the Nintendo Switch is a surprising contender for most versatile Valentine’s Day present. If the intended recipient prefers to play solo, they can hole up and disappear into Skyrim or Zelda; if they’re feeling sociable, you can play together in tabletop mode or even beam it to the TV for an old-school vibe.

With a variety of games and a huge abundance of minigames to choose from, it really is the gift that keeps on giving, whether you’re having a romantic evening at home pelting each other with blue shells, or hosting a high-tech games night for your most competitive friends.

8. Sandy Leaf Farm Gin Making Kit

For those who prefer their botanicals in liquid form

Specifications

Best for: Gin lovers

Gift Type: Alcohol

Reasons to buy

+More personal than just buying a bottle+You can try multiple flavours

Reasons to avoid

Gin connoisseurs are a tricky bunch to buy for. Pick up anything too mainstream and they’ll already have tried it, but go too “out there” and you risk wasting your money on an exotically-flavoured tipple they just don’t enjoy.

Save yourself the risk and opt for this make your own gin kit. It includes everything you need (minus vodka) to turn a cheap spirit into delicious gin.

If you’d rather skip straight to the drinking, and to be honest we wouldn’t blame you, check out the below selection of our favourite drinks from all shelves of the drinks cabinet.

Reasons to buy

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If the man in your life has trouble getting the perfect shave, the Shave Facial Essentials kit from men-ü should be at the top of your Valentine’s Day gift list.

The kit comes with the synthetic fibre PRO BLACK shaving brush. In contrast to badger hair brushes, the man-made fibre is less absorbent (therefore wasting less product) and generates a creamier lather whilst stimulating the skin to raise hairs from the follicle for a closer shave.

He’ll be well equipped with the men-ü Healthy Facial Wash, Matt 'Skin Refresh' Gel, and Facial Moisturiser that cleanse, tone and moisturise the skin to complete the shaving process.

10. Canon SELPHY CP1200 Photo Printer

Instantly turns your smartphone snaps into physical photos

Specifications

Best for: Scrapbookers

Colour: White

Gift Type: Tech

Reasons to buy

+Streamlined design+Good value for money +Water-resistant prints

Reasons to avoid

Nothing beats the memories we make with the people we love, and pictures are essential parts of those experiences, whether those images capture time spent at concerts or the destinations you passed through on road trips.

In this age of camera phones and Snapchat, we rarely create keepsakes from the photos we take, but this sleek photo printer lets you turn pictures you snapped with a smartphone or tablet into physical photos you can put on your wall or desk.

The Canon SELPHY CP1200 comes with a power cord, but it also runs on battery, with each charge giving you 54 prints. Note though that you’ll need to restock ink and paper with Canon’s dedicated “photo packs” that contain enough of each supply for a set number of pictures.

11. Beats Studio 3 Wireless Red Headphones

On-ear Bluetooth headphones in a fitting Valentine's Red

Specifications

Best for: Audiophiles

Colour: Red

Gift Type: Tech

Reasons to buy

+Most natural-sounding Beats yet+Integrated Apple W1 chip provides seamless pairing+Up to 40 hours of battery life after a full charge

If your loved one is an audiophile, these upscale headphones help him or her gain a renewed appreciation for much-adored tunes. The Beats Studio3 Wireless are also great for people who prefer to listen to their tunes in noisy environments, such as while walking to work in a busy city, thanks to their neat noise-cancelling tech.

Featuring Beats' remarkable 'Pure ANC' (Pure Adaptive Noise Cancelling) technology, these headphones actually monitor your listening environment, whether that's on a bus or train or in the office or gym, so that it can best block out ambient noise.

The wide variety of colours and finishes makes it easy to bring a stylish element to the gift, but we think that you've got to go for the Valentine's-inspired red.

Reasons to avoid

If you share a home with someone who's a bit of a minimalist and scoffs at the idea of printing dozens of cutesy pictures to pass around at family gatherings, help them add a personal touch to the home still with a digital photo frame.

Simply insert your phone's memory card (or a USB drive holding photos you've downloaded) and this frame will work with them to display all of your photos and videos in a slideshow-like format. Just remember to pick and choose if there are some holiday snaps you don't want the whole family seeing.

It's really easy to set up and to control by using the remote control to easily flip through photos. What's more, it's fully portable and can be set down on any flat surface anywhere in the home thanks to the included stand.

Specifications

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If you’re finding it increasingly difficult to support your other half on the green whilst he's wearing garish trousers and sweater vests, it's time to take action.

Yes get them a gift they'll use and love, but also take the chance to restyle their golfing attire and make it a lot more bearable. We think that meeting in the middle with some stylish but functional golf shoes could make the best Valentine's Day gift.

This pair from Adidas are available from Amazon and Golfbidder in three different colours and will ensure your other half will still boss the green without sacrificing on style.

Flowers for Valentine's Day

Image credit: Getty

If you're looking for something a little more traditional, then there are some great places to order flowers that go above and beyond what you can pick up at a supermarket or garage.

Our personal favourite is Bloom & Wild, who not only deliver gorgeous bouquets and gift sets, but they also offer a subscription service whereby you can deliver letterbox flowers to your beloved every month.